Upholstery spring construction



l' lill) N 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Filed Aug. 21, 194'? INVENTOR imma! Jamzl'BY/Mw: s. www

ATTORNEY Dec. 11, 1951 E. sAMEL UPHOLSTERY SPRING CONSTRUCTION 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Aug. 21, 1947 M R Y O E mm m E O v i 6 m mw M m A S F YNN\1 am. LB mw uw i W H u w @f s T H ww Patented Dec. l1, 1951 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE UPHGLS'EERY SPRING OONSTRUCTIGN Emanuel Samel,Denville, N. J.

Application August 21, 1947, Serial No. 769,891

6 Claims. l

My present, invention relates to an, yupholstery spring construction anda method of assembling such structures into an upholstery assembly suchas is used for the bottoms and other portions of upholstered furniture.

It has been customary for many years tofuse substantially helicalsprings` in making up upholstered furniture, these springs usuallyhaving a somewhat smaller diameter intermediate their ends than at theends thereof, although this is relatively immaterial from the point ofview of the present invention. vIn assembling such springs into anarticle of vfurniture it is customary, :for example, in making a chairor sola bottom or seat,.iirst to build a trame of some rigidmaterial,such as wood, then to support the lower ends of thesprings to form theseat, or the rear ends when aback is being formed, to the lower or rearface of Ythe frame` by the use of webbing, usually arranged in bandssecured at their ends to the frame. and sewed together and to thelowermost or rearmost ends of the springs by strong thread or cord.Other. arrangements equivalent thereto from the present point of. viewhave been suggested for securingthe rear or lowermost ends of thesprings to the frame and for locating the springs with their axes allsubstantially parallel and in a desired distribution. pattern. Theupperv or forward ends of the springs have customarily been connectedtogether and to the uppermost or forwardparts of the frame by the use ofquite heavy cord, Which is Ausually in accordance with prior artpractices, out into suitable lengths, then one. end is secured .toapartV of the frame inthe forming cfa single pass. 'Ihe cord is thenextended to the nearest spring toV be connected in this pass and a knotmade between the cord and the endmost or some other turn of the springadjacent to the end, this knot being made non-slipping as to the cord bypulling the end of the cord through a loop in forming one or two halfhitches or some other similar type vof knot. The cord has thencustomarily been extended across the spring and then been connected to aturn substantially diametrically opposite the rst point of connection bya similar knot. In like manner the cord is attached to each spring in aroW- and then the other end iinally attached to the frame opposite thepoint of attachment of the first-named end.

. In carrying out this operation it is necessary firstto cut oi suitablelengths of cord from a supply ,of anindefinite lengthupon a reel orother suitable. dispensing package, then, in making each knot,..topullthe .zreeiend through a loop .one or y2 more-times. The knot, afterhaving been formed may bench-slipping as to the cord, but can-and doesduring subsequent use move endways as to the wirev of the spring. TheWhole operation in forming a chair or sofa bottom is tiresome andtime-consuming in the extreme.

An object of the present invention is to save a large part of the timeinvolved in upholstery spring assembly in accordance with the priorxartmethod as` above outlined and t0 provide a better finished product thanhas been possible by the use of prior art methods and structures asaforesaid. To this end it is a speciiic objector the present inventionto provide a plurality of irregularly shaped portions on the endmostcoil and possibly also on at least one other coiledjacent to the endmostcoilto which a. bight of the cord may be suitably connectedwithout` thenecessity of pulling an end through a loopinforming a knot Which willbenon-slipping as tothe cord. At the same time, the provision or thisirregularly shaped portion, which is rigid*V with the wire of thespring, will insure that any knot made in accordance with the presentinvention and by the use of such an irregular portion will benonslipping asrto the spring.

. Further and more detailed objects of the present invention in thisrespect comprise particular embodimentsv of the invention as to theshape and construction ofthe irregularly shaped portions and includingthe making of such portions from parts of the spring wire bent up intosuitable shape, preferably generally in the form of the letter T, or themaking or such portions from one or more separate parts, suitablyrigidly secured, as by Welding, to the spring itself.

.A further object of the present invention is to provide a lspringassembly formed by theuse of springs made in accordance with the presentinvention and connected by cords which are extended in a plurality ofpasses, preferably substantially at right angles to one another, so thateach spring is connected in at least two passes as aforesaid, whereby toprevent the dislocation` of Y the springs in the plane of the upper orforward ends thereof out of the desired distribution pattern in anydirection in such plane. This result may be further insured lbyproviding not only twosets of passes of cord at right angles to oneanother, and which are usually parallel to the sides of a rectangularframe in which the spring assembly is secured, butalso by providing twoadditional sets of diagonally disposed passes of cordsin'lilarw 1yeonnected-.-tothe Vframe. and to kthe springs.

A further detailed object of the present inven" using the springs of thepresent invention to make a structure as outlined above.

While it is recognized that springs in accordance with the presentinvention may be slightly more expensive to make than are theconventional upholstery springs due to the necessity of forming orfabricating the irregular portions on at least one end coil thereof, thesavings in time and hence in labor cost in the manufacture of the finalarticles of furniture are so great as far to outweigh the slightlyincreased cost of the novel springs.

Further and more detailed objects of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following specification and appended claims, whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view principally in perspective and with parts broken awayshowing a part of a spring assembly made in accordance with the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan View of an assembly in accordance with thepresent invention; and

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are fragmentary delailed Views, principally in plan,illustrating modified forms of irregular cord-attachment portions inaccordance with the present invention.

Consider first the spring as a separate article and the irregularlyshaped portions as above generally described formed or secured thereon.Referring first to the form of the invention shown in Fig. l, there isillustrated but two springs I which are in the form of conventionalupholstery springs, with the exception of the irregular portions thereofin accordance with the present invention. These portions are disposedprincipally, if not solely, on the endmost turn or coil of the springshown at 2. Preferably there are at least four such irregularly shapedportions formed by or on the endmost turn and substantiallyequiangularly disposed about this turn. In accordance with the formshown in Fig. l, these portions each comprise a bar 3, which may beformed from a piece of the same type of wire of which the spring I isformed, or may be some other suitable material and fabricated in anydesired manner, the use of spring metal not being essential in theconstruction of these parts. As shown, there is a simple bar 3, which issuitably secured as by welding to a part of the uppermost turn 2intermediate the ends of the bar 3. This provides two projections 4 and5 to which Vconnection may be made by a cord as hereinafter moreparticularly set forth. It is also contemplated, however, that anysuitable means of securing an irregularly-shaped portion to a part ofthe spring proper may be used as the equivalent of welding, for example,means such as a set screw or clamp or clip, as will appear from theforegoing to those skilled in the art, the purpose being that theirregularly shaped portion be suitably rigidly secured to the main bodyof the spring, which in turn may be formed in any `conventional manner.

tions per se.

It is preferred that the irregular portion, such as the bars 3, besecured to the turn 2 of the spring on the underside, as seen in Fig. lso as to be within the axial dimensions of the spring, considered apartfrom the irregularly shaped por- In this Way the portions provided inaccordance with the present invention do not interfere with the finalproduct and do not project in a direction such as to damage anyupholstery material which may be used in conjunction therewith. Theconnecion of the cord to the bars or portions will be describedhereinafter.

Considering now the embodiments of the invention shown in Figs. 3 and 4,it will be noted that the irregularly shaped portions generallyindicated respectively at 6 and 1 are formed from integral parts of theuppermost turn 2 of the spring by bending the wire thereof into peculiarand desired shapes. In general, the shapes in these two figures is thatof the outlines of the letter T, this shape being in effect secured atthe end of the stem of the T to the center or bottom of the bight of aportion of the wire shaped as the letter U, which is formed with acen.er or bight portion indicated at 8 and sides indicated at 9.

Referring now particularly to the Fig. 3 form of the invention, the partforming the outline of the letter T includes the side portions I0defining the stern of the T, portions I I defining the upper side of thecross part or top of the T, and the central portion I2 which is in theform of a reentrant part extending from the center of the top of the Tdownwardly into the stem thereof, as shown. The top portions II areconnected to side portions I0 by end portions I3 and those in turn byacute angled portions I4 extending from the side portions ID as shown.The cen.er part I2 has a part circular recess defining portion at theinner end thereof. This form results in a very effective construction inthat it is easy to connect a cord thereto by winding it in substantiallyfigure 8 form between the recess defined by parts I0 and I4 on one side,the center recess defined by the part I2 and the recess defined by partsI0 and I4 on the other side. This may be accomplished while maintainingthe stretch of the cord between its points of atachment, for example,between springs or between adjacent parts of the same spring, in a tautcondition and working always with a bight of the cord. In accordancewith the present invention it has been found that a. desired greatertaulness is possible than according to prior art practices.

Referring now to the form of Fig. 4, there is illustrated a somewhatsimpler form. In this form the center part is formed merely as theoutline of the leiter T, without any reentrant portion corresponding toI2 in Fig. 3. The wire is bent from the inner ends of the parts 8forming the bight of the U upwardly as shown at I5 to form the stem ofthe T, thence outwardly as shown at I6 to form the underside of the T,thence around to form the upper side of the top of the T as shown atI'I. Any type of knot or plural twist which may be formed with a bightof a cord may be effective in securing the cord to the irregular portion'I of Fig. 4, the inven'ion in this case not residing in any particulartype of knot, many of which are known.

Referring now to the Fig. 5 form of the invention, there is illustratedan embodiment in which the irregular part is again secured to the bightIB of a U formed of the principal part of the wire of the spring bybending it to form sides I 9 of the U and the bight IB thereof, as

"amener-2 Ishown. Centrally of the bight fof,:thefU. thereris:securedthereto,` as by welding, one or more separate pieces'forrned asinthe shape/oi 'thefletter T- andincluding. aI Vstem-'portion 20 .andatop The cord may-nbesuitably portion or bar 2l. securedabouttheseportions in a Ymanner which lwill be obyiousto those skilledin the art and who. are acquainted with'the making of knots.

It ispnoted that in. all the formsv'of Figs,.3, 4

and 5, the irregularly shaped. portion isformed in .one single planewhich .is substantiallyvthe pla-neof`V the top coil `of: the spring;.that vthe vprincipal part of the irregularly shaped portion isin theform of the letter T or theoutline thereof, andlthat it' isconnectedlcentrally of 4the .bight of a U--shaped portion of the turn 2ofthefspring and intheplane thereof rextending between Ithe `sides ofthe U.

Consider new theyspring.assemblyy as a 4construction and the method ofmaking it. Thereis shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a frame includingframe4members 22 and 23, Vthisirarne .being conventiom ally shown as asquare, although it may Joe. and usually 5 isy insomerectangular. form-On the otherrhand, the invention is not limitedA to` `any particularform of the frame as it may be adaptable` to any such form made of anysuitable rigidmateriah usually wood, in which a plurality; oi springs.are yarranged according. to avv predeterminedfdistributicn; pattern. Infthe* usual lcourse and as herein shown,lthis pattern includes aplurality 'of rows of, springs whichvmay be arranged asvshownrequidistant in bothdimen- `sions .or atthecorners of squares-,asto the center lines/of the' springs. In the usuall course, lthe axes ofthese springsiareah vparallel to one another and are perpendicular tothegeneral plane of `thel frame. .In accordance with prior art practice,or.in-.accordance with anyfdesired practice or construction; thelowervorrear ends of ithefsplringsmay'be connected together and to theframe by any suitable means here gen-- erally indicated as strips ofwebbing 24, Fig. 1,

which are usually` arranged-at right: angles to Y one another, securedat theirends to the vframe in any suitable manner, and secured to thelower or rear ends of each 'of the springs in any desired manner, forexample, by sewing them with a -strong thread using a curved needle.Any; desired means for supporting the lower orrear'ends ing one row andshown horizontal inthisiig-v ure, which are. connected together by alength of cord anchored as shown at' 29 to the frame 22 on'the left andsecured to Veach of the springs 25 170.28, inclusive,..then anchored atitsother end to the other frame 22., as shown at 3Q. Thus, the pass ofthe cord from point 2S to the point Sli connecting the springs 25 to 28may be con sidered one single pass. If desired, the cord may beterminated at a point 3Q and a separate length of cord may be extendedfrom the point 3| to secure the springs 32, 33, 34 and 35 and connectedagain to the point 36.

Alternatively, the l including connections in series with the springs:35i to -232 in this reverse sequence. .In Aa 'z similarr manner, 'each-lYof" then springs. fingthe :entire assembly l rnayv beV connected.byp'passesf. fof 'cord whichfare; horizontal in; this: View. 'It's-.ispreferable and. usual practice also toccon'nectfthe springsV togetherA'byA .passes of; 'cordarranged: at right angles to one another,thusthere are `shown -passesof the cord indicated generallyv at '31,"38, and arranged in` al vertical direction,- as .showninr Fig. 2xlatfright angles' to the-passes llirstv described. If 1 desired, twoYadditional lsets of passes arranged as diagonals may befused, :each`4pass being.'v Yconnectedl at its endsytoythe framemembers 22 and 23Vand 'connected .intermediate itsi ends'v to 'the springsr whichqarerinalignmentwith the; passes respectively. Thus, -thezendmast diagonalpasses may be connected to but one spring, as shown for. the pass 4lwhich connects fonlyto the spring 25+and lis. connected to the`iframe".mein-hers: 22: and 23 at. points-0112V afndt lipsrespect-ively..The remainder' "of thez'di- 'agonal passes may be. connected .similarly:to vthose .previouslyxdescribed and as will be obvious vfrom`aninspectionv of Fig. 2.

v If desired, asingle length of cord maybe :extended to include some orallthe: passes necessary to connect thezsprings in the manner'shown inFig,` 2'prior tu Athe-cord: used in-formingthe passes 'beingseveredfrorn a supplybodythereof of indenite lengthesuch as' a reelofecord. When this isgd'ona'hcwevenit is preferred that 4'thelterrnirlii.zo-each-pass of cord' `be rigidlyfsecured tothe frame vinanysuitable manner a'sby a tack or nail.

In accordance with the'present inventionfand as best seen on an enlargedscale in Figi 1; the cord here'shown at dtimaybe connected as indicatedat45 rasgby. a suitable nail-to, the frame member 22. ltis sometimesdesired that the endmost .springin airow-g'such asthe rowfof springs '25to 28, shownin Fig. 2, beconnected somewhat diierently to rthe cord thantheiinterm'ediate springs of lthat row. This; diiere'nt'connection'isshownrin` detail in Fig,v 1 and-'includes'the'provision of a connection.between the cordl and'A a turn-of the lspringnbelow vbut adjacentto-fthe 4outermostor, uppermost turn 2y thereof. Fortthis purposethespring in accordance with the present invention: is; provided.v on,such. adjacent-turnl .as the turn 46 with ancirregularly shaped portion41 as shown. -The portion.; 41 may: be. exactly 'fthe same-as theportion. 3 aboVe'describedor'may .ta-ke; 1any'of the=orms of Figs.v 3ito 5,- orvv any equivalentthereof. The cord M is: extended'in ataut'rnanner, to theirregular-portion 41, then suitably knotted .theretoby a `knot whichimay-be fforrned from abightf'of the cord. The cord-isthenzextended in a plane diametrically acrossthe spring I as shown atlltov connect to. an irregu- "lar-lyfshaped. portionzfshownlatl dll byasimilar knot.` The lcord then extends' rearwardly across .thespring inastretchshown. atll lto connect to a.point substantially dia-metricallyopposite 'the point 49 at 5l, and is there connectedltheretofbyassimiler. knot. The cord is then extended in a stretch 52 to connect tothe next adjacent spring, which may be in the position of the spring 25,as shown in Fig. 2 it being understood that the spring shown at the leftin Fig. 1 may be in a position corresponding to that shown at 25 in Fig.2. Connection of the cord with the intermediate springs, such as thoseshown at 26 and 2l' for the rst horizontal pass in Fig. 2 between thepoints 29 and 3B, or the springs 33 .and 34 for the next horizontal passbetween the points 3| and 36 in that ilgure is preferably made by'connecting the cord to two substantially diametrically oppositeportions of the uppermost turn, as shown at the points. 53 and 54between which the cord extends in a stretch 55. The remainder of theconnections may be made in a similar manner to that just described.

While cord is referred to throughout the present specification, the termis to -be construed in a broad sense. It is also used to designate thematerial known in the upholstery art as spring twine.

By the provision of the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided anovel spring construction, a novel spring assembly which may be madeusing the spring construction of the present invention, and a novelmethod of effecting such assembly using cord which may be anchoredinitially at one end and then employed in connecting the springstogether without ilrst severing any portion of the cord from the generalsupply body thereof and without tediously pulling any cord ends througha loop in forming any knot. The connections between the cord and thesprings in each case is non-slipping endwise of either the cord or thewire of the spring to which it is connected, and the whole may beeffected in a minimum of time by persons with relatively little trainingand experience, and with a maximum economy in the use of the cord.

While there is shown herein but a few of the possible embodiments of theinvention, I do not .wish to be limited except by the scope of theappended claims, which are to be construed validly as broadly as thestate of the prior art permits.

I claim:

1. An upholstery spring having a plurality of coils and provided on oneend coil with a plurality of irregularly shaped portions, each of saidirregularly shaped portions comprising at least one separate partrigidly secured to the wire of said end coil of said spring andsubstantially equiangularly disposed about said end coil, each of saidirregularly shaped portions being adapted to have a flexible cordknotted thereto by a knot formed from a bight portion of the cord, sothat said cord will be prevented from movement with respect to said endcoil of said spring by the rigid connection between said irregularlyshaped portion and the end coil of said spring.

2. An upholstery spring in accordance with claim 1, wherein each of saidirregularly shaped portions has at least a part thereof arrangedsubstantially in the shape of the letter T.

3. An upholstery spring in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of saidirregularly shaped portions is formed by a cross bar welded to the wireof one end coil of said spring on a side of said end coil toward theopposite end of said spring, so as to be inside the contines of the endcoils of said spring in an axial direction, said cross bars extending atsubstantially right angles to the parts of the wire to which said crossbars are welded respectively.

4. An upholstery spring in accordance with 8 claim 1, wherein each ofsaid irregularly shaped portions is formed by a separate member havingthe shape of the letter T rigidly secured at the end of the stem of theT to a part of the wire of said spring.

5. An upholstery spring assembly, comprising a plurality of coil springsdisposed with their longitudinal axes substantially parallel and locatedaccording to a predetermined distribution pattern, a rigid frame, meanscarried by the frame for supporting one end of each of said springs insaid distribution pattern, each of said springs having its other endprovided with a plurality of'irregular portions rigid therewith, and atleast one flexible cord of non-metallic material secured to said frameand connected by nonslipping type knots, each formed on a bight of saidcord to secure said cord to said irregular portions so as to hold theother ends of said springs against substantial dislocation out of saiddistribution pattern, while permitting the yielding of said springsduring the subsequent use of said assembly.

6. An upholstery spring assembly in accordance with claim 5, wherein allof said springs are secured in said distribution pattern by a singlelength of cord connected at the ends of each of a plurality of straightline passes to said frame and connected to each of said springs inalignment with each of said passes respectively, said cord and itsconnections being effective to secure said springs against dislocationin any direction in a plane containing the ends of said spring to whichsaid cord is connected, and said cord extending from one pass to anotheruntil said springs are connected as aforesaid, there being passes ofsaid cord substantially at right angles to one another rso that each ofsaid springs is included in at least two passes which are respectivelysubstantially at right angles to one another.

EMANUEL SAMEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 54,443 Tingley May 1, 1866 95,984Bushnell Oct. 19, 1869 378,546 Henry Feb. 28, 1888 654,707 BrouyetteJuly 31, 1900 945,401 Mack Jan. 4, 1910 1,398,297 Hermann Nov. 29, 19211,885,471 Oehrl Nov. 1, 1932 1,952,059 Duilield Mar. 27, 1934 1,982,426Goethel Nov. 27, 1934 2,001,964 Kimbrig May 21, 1935 2,066,861 SimmonsJan. 5, 1937 2,309,164 Burd Jan. 26, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number CountryDate 89,706 Germany Nov. 27, 1896 388,803 France June 1l, 1908

